With respect to the application which was previously filed, it is presently well known that various products, especially food product, are now being sold to the consuming public directly from bulk containers. For many years, food products such as vegetables and the like have been sold from coolers, permitting the consumer to physically remove the desired quantity of product from the coolers into bags or other containers, primarily as a convenience to the consumer. It has now become in vogue to sell numerous other food products from bulk containers thereby permitting the consumer to remove any desired quantity of product from the bulk container, and to bag the same himself. In addition to other conveniences, it is a cost saving feature to a store since the labor costs are thereby substantially reduced.
However, it is now known that tampering and/or contamination is quite possible where the product is openly available to the public, and there has now developed a need to contain such product within containers which do not permit access. Hence, if food product is to be sold in bulk form to the public, it is imperative that containers be developed which are basically sealed containers, and provide virtually no access to the consuming public during the food retrieval process.
The inventors herein have developed a series of sealed barrier containers, of the type shown for example in patent no. 4,569,377, which is a very basic sealed bin container. The inventors herein have further developed alternate versions of sealed bin containers such as those shown in patent no. 4,592,494, as well as the type described in the inventors subsequent patent no. 4,650,098. Each of these containers have, in common, the feature of having product contained within the container which is totally enclosed, and permits virtually no access to the public. The containers are the type having a hopper upper portion thereof, wherein food product may be inserted by the store owner, and the access door then locked. The hopper leads to a food or product ramp, contained within the dispensing portion of the container. The food retrieval means in the nature of a scoop or other device is then provided in the dispensing portion, the scoop or other food retrieval means being controllable from the outside of the container and permitting the operator to retrieve food from the product ramp, and to deposit the same in an exit chute adjacent the lower portion of the container. The consumer may position a bag or other container at the exit end of the exit chute, such that when food product is retrieved from the product ramp, by means of the scoop or other food retrieval means, the food will exit through the exit chute and directly into the container.
Each of the containers shown in the above-mentioned patents, once again, have in common the feature of totally enclosing the container so that the food product contained therein is nonaccessible to the public thereby to prevent contamination and/or tampering. However, it is deemed to be important to the operation of the systems to provide food retrieval means which is simple in construction, and yet efficient in operation. As was shown in patent no. 4,592,494, different verions of scoop means are shown therein which are operable from the external portion of the container, in order to retrieve food or product from the product ramp and to deposit the same through the exit chute into the receptacle.
While the systems disclosed in the aforementioned patents are effective for the purpose intended, it was deemed desirable to further simplify the food retrieval means primarily from the standpoint of manufacturing costs, as well as to significantly increase the operability of the device. It was specifically found that especially with respect to the device depicted in applicant's patent no. 4,592,494, the movement of the scoop means was limited by the enclosure or opening in which the scoop means was contained. For example, the embodiment as shown in FIG. 9 of patent no. 4,592,494, while permitting arcuate motion as well as lateral motion of the scoop means relative to the container, such movement is limited due to the fact that the scoop means is contained within a slotted opening such that the degree of arcuate movement is limited by the confines of the slotted opening. Hence, pursuant to the present invention, further improvements have been developed which both simplified the food retrieval means of the scoop means, and furthermore, permits a wide degree of orbital movement such that the user will have a high degree of flexibility in terms of food retrieval when operating the scoop means. The device of the present invention permits the easy and efficient retrieval of product from the product ramp by not only simplifying the mechanical components of the device, but rendering the use of the device more flexible in that a higher degree of movement is permitted. The present invention further provides a closure system for the exit chute to ensure that unauthorized access into the container is not improperly gained through the exit chute portion of the device, while nevertheless, avoiding any interference with the operation of the food retrieval means for retrieving product from the container and into the exit chute.